An Analysis Of The Feminist Ideas In Pavilion Of Women

Pearl S. Buck is a distinguished female writer in the20th century. Throughout her lifetime, she creates alot of great works. Pearl S. Buck has lived in China for forty years, and especially has been almost inChinkiang for eighteen years, so she calls Chinkiang her “Chinese hometown”, where she spends herchildhood and gets in touch with the poor in China. She witnesses the sufferings of common people,especially Chinese women, being in the plight of war, famine and poverty. Gradually, what happens aroundmakes Pearl S. Buck pay more and more attention to the deplorable condition of women, particularly Chinesewomen. And she successfully molds many classical, lively images of Chinese women, such as: O-lan in TheGood Earth, Madame Wu in Pavilion of Women, mother in The Mother and so on and so forth. In her opinion,women liberation is to get awakening rather than to internalize masculine consciousness as their pursuit. Sheforms a set of her own feminist ideas throughout her life, which is in accordance with that of Luce Irigarayand Simon de Beauvoir. First of all, she affirms women’s power, i. e.: women are not inferior to men whenthey are born. Besides, she speaks highly of equality between men and women. Lastly, she advocates the ideathat men and women should be respectful and considerate to each other on the basis of equality.From the feminist perspective, the thesis analyzes how the female characters of Pavilion of Womentransform from “the Other” oppressed by patriarchal society to “the Subject” controlling their own fate,during the period of realizing themselves as female subjects gradually and seeking for self. In the process, itinterprets feminist notion “gender harmony” reflected in the novel, and probes into the causes of Pearl S.Buck’s feminist ideas.The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. Pearl S. Buck’s experienceand works, and the purpose and significance of this thesis are briefly introduced. The second chapter is theliterature review. It demonstrates the previous study of Pearl S. Buck in three aspects: the research on Pearl S.Buck, the research on Pearl S. Buck from feminist perspectives and the research on Pavilion of Women. Andthen it points out limitations of the previous studies on Pavilion of Women, and then shows the originality ofthe thesis. The third chapter is theoretical framework. It briefly introduces the history and development offeminist theory and especially the meaning of “the Subject and the Other” and “gender harmony”. FeministSimon de Beauvoir does not only point out the reasons for women’s surrendering themselves to the patriarchy,but also advances an idea that women should undergo self-awareness and look for their positions as a subject.And Luce Irigaray believes that a bridge between men and women should be built. On the basis of mutual respect of the two “Subject”, they learn to mutually communicate and help in order to acquire the higher-leverself-value, freedom and happiness. The fourth chapter clarifies feminist ideas in the novel, through theanalysis of the female images of Pavilion of Women (Madame Wu, Meng, Rulan, Linyi and Ch’iuming). Theanalysis of these women indicates that, in the primary stage of women as “the Other” subordinated to men,some of them are wholeheartedly surrendering to patriarchy; some deeply know that they cannot contend withpatriarchal society but only to endure; some, to some extent, revolt against patriarchy through their words andbehaviors. However, they still have no consciousness of being a “Subject”, failing to get rid of the status of“the Other”. When gradually awaking themselves and achieving self-awareness, some break the silence andrevolt against patriarchy; some go after self-awareness with others’ help; some achieve self-awarenessthrough their own meditation and contemplation. And then, under the guidance of others, they go out of theirfamily or energetically plunge into the charities to look for outlet. In the end, they can dominate their life, seekfor self and turn out to be a subject. While stating the feminist idea of the equality and freedom relationshipbetween men and women, the thesis expounds free and equal relationship of men and women that Pearl S.Buck advocates, based on an analysis of traditional husband-wife relationships in China in Pavilion of Women:(the maid mode, the queen mode, and father-daughter mode) and the subordinate status of women (a tool ofcarrying on the family line and maidservants) in the family. And then it explores the causes of Pearl S. Buck’sfeminist ideas mainly from social context, her family environment and the process of her education. The fifthchapter draws the conclusion. It reaffirms the significance of the thesis specifically speaking: to providereaders with a unique reading perspective, to help readers understand the great writer Pearl S. Buck better, andto offer a harmonious husband-wife relationship for men and women in modern society.In a word, except showing the plight of women in the novel, the thesis focuses on finding a road thatwomen can get out of it——building a gender harmony, on the basis of the previous study of Pearl S. Buckfrom feminist perspectives. Whether women in the novel or modern women, they firstly should seek forself-awareness, and, with men, set up the equal and respectful relationship of men and women. Moreover,men and women can have a better understanding and communication with each other, on the premise thatmen and women acknowledge they are “two subjects”. Eventually, they not merely can create much morematerial wealth, but can build a rich spiritual world as well. Therefore, they can achieve the higher-levelself-value, freedom and happiness.